1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to extraction cleaners and more particularly to a portable, hand-held deep cleaner that applies cleaning fluid to a surface, agitates the surface, and then extracts the applied fluid therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable, hand-held extraction cleaners having a cleaning solution supply tank and a recovery tank are known. These extraction cleaners typically have a vacuum motor that powers an impeller to create low pressure on one side of the impeller and higher pressure on the other side thereof. The recovery tank is typically positioned between the low-pressure side of the impeller and a fluid collection nozzle to remove fluid from a surface and deposit it in the recovery tank. It is also known to provide a separate cleaning fluid pump for directing cleaning fluid from the supply tank to the surface.
One hand-held deep cleaning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,738 issued to Monson et al. on Dec. 6, 1988. In this arrangement, a hand-held deep cleaner has a handle section removably joined to a lower discharge section. A collection chamber receives fluid from a surface through a nozzle opening that communicates with the intake side of a vacuum motor. The collection tank houses a hollow plenum chamber and a centrifugal separator attached to a vacuum blower. A cleaning fluid tank is pressurized by exhaust air from the outlet side of the rotating vacuum blower to force cleaning fluid under pressure from the cleaning fluid tank to a supply nozzle when a solution supply trigger is depressed to thereby apply cleaning fluid to a surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,740 issued to McCray on Nov. 29, 1994, discloses a hand-held deep cleaner that includes a housing, a handle, a body portion, and a nozzle with a suction opening. A collection tank is removably supported on the housing and is fluidly connected to a vacuum pump. The vacuum pump has an exhaust port and is powered by an electric pump motor. A solution tank is removably connected to the housing and is pressurized by a pressure pump that is also connected to the pump motor. A separate drive motor is coupled to a rotatable brush for scrubbing a surface to be cleaned.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,498 to Roberts et al. discloses a hand-held liquid extraction cleaner including a recovery tank mounted to the forward end of a cleaner housing with a suction nozzle and conduit on a front face of the recovery tank connected to an inlet opening in the recovery tank. A vacuum source is connected to the recovery tank through an exhaust conduit, integrally formed in the recovery tank, for drawing liquid and debris through the suction nozzle and the suction conduit and into the recovery tank. A removable cleaning fluid supply tank is mounted to a rear portion of the cleaner housing, an adjustable spray nozzle is mounted to the suction conduit and a pump is positioned in a supply conduit between the spray nozzle and the cleaning fluid supply tank for supplying pressurized cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid supply tank to the spray nozzle. The pump includes an impeller which is positioned in an outlet opening of a reservoir in which the cleaning fluid is deposited from the cleaning fluid supply tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,058 to Garner et al. discloses a portable vacuum surface cleaning apparatus that includes an integrated suction nozzle and recovery tank removably mounted to a forward portion of a housing and a rotatably driven brush mounted to a rear portion of the housing. A cleaning solution tank at a rear portion of the housing has a discharge flow passage directed rearwardly adjacent the brush. An electrical vacuum source is mounted in the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,068 to Fan et al. discloses a handheld fluid extractor having a suction nozzle at a front portion thereof, a fluid delivery tank mounted beneath the suction nozzle and a fluid recovery tank mounted beneath the solution tank. A chamber 68 is connected to the suction conduit 82 and separates the air from the recovered liquid which drops from the plenum chamber 68 into the recovery tank 28. The fluid delivery tank and the fluid recovery tank are removable from the suction nozzle.
A commercially available form of the portable vacuum surface cleaning apparatus disclosed in the Garner et al. '058 patent was manufactured and sold by Ryobi Motor Products under the trademark 1344 SPOT COP. The Ryobi SPOT COP extractor did not have a rotary-driven brush agitator and included a fluid dispenser adjacent to the suction nozzle at a front portion of the recovery tank. The cleaning solution was delivered to the spray nozzle from a cleaning solution tank at a rear portion of the housing through a pump.
Heretofore, a hand-held extractor has been manufactured and sold by Royal the mark DIRT DEVIL SPOT SCRUBBER. The Royal SPOT SCRUBBER is similar to the hand-held extraction cleaning machine disclosed in the Roberts et al. '498 patent except that it has a hand pump adjacent to the handle to pump cleaning solution to a spray nozzle adjacent to the suction nozzle. In addition, a rotary brush is mounted to a main housing behind the suction nozzle and is driven about a vertical axis by a turbine motor which is connected to the suction source for the extractor. A valve alternately connects the suction source to the turbine motor and to the suction nozzle.